I grew listening to Abba. My mother is a fan and some of my
fondest memories is of my sisters and I singing along to their songs while running
errands or on road trips. One of my favorites
of their songs is Take a Chance on Me. The lyrics go…take a chance on me, gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie, if you
put me to the test, if you let me try. Nothing seemingly wrong with that message
unless you happen to be the daughter of Candace Kruse. Long before Yoda, my
Mama said: do or do not; there is no try.
The world is constantly telling us to take chance on something new:
try a new career, try dating a new person, try a new look and so on. I am not afraid
of change. In fact, generally, I welcome it because change is how we learn. New
experiences teach us about God, ourselves, others and the world around us but isn’t
there a better way than simply spinning the roulette wheel of life and hoping
for a better outcome? Dating someone new isn’t going to help if the problem is
really you. Same goes for a new job or career.
I propose we learn to take risks and not chances.
So, what is the difference between a chance and a risk? Webster
defines chance as the occurrence and development of events in the absence of
any obvious design. Whereas risk is defined as the possibility that something
unpleasant or unwelcome will happen. On
the surface, taking a chance sounds better that taking a risk but read between
the lines…one is absent of design.
God calls us regularly to take risks. He calls us into the deep
water to renew and grow our faith. When thinking of risk taking in the Bible,
the story that comes to my mind is The Parable of the Talents in Matthew
25:14-30. Old school King James version
refers to the money the rich man leaves his most trusted servants as talents. I
know Jesus let us all hear the story using THAT word on purposely because He
wants us to understand something very important when we read this passage: don’t
misuse what I give you. As our Creator,
He has in fact made each one of us unique with our own talents and abilities,
looks and laughs. You are the only you He made and only you can influence the
specific people He has cross your path in the way that you can. Don’t get me wrong,
He can use anybody to do anything as He is God, but He made us each special
with a purpose all our own and He did this deliberately, proving our singular
value to Him as our God. He is GREAT
like that!
Anyway, just in case you don’t know the story, here is my version
of the events: rich dude needs to go out of town and he doesn’t want commerce
to stop in his absence. He gathers up three of his most trusted servants, all
of which have different gifts and abilities. He leaves them money to invest according
to their talents. Each on receives a different amount. The first guy doubles the amount left to him.
Same goes for the second guy. Third guy
is gripped by the fear of failure, so he decides the safest course of action is
to bury his in the ground where it will be safe until his master returns. Rich guy
returns and calls his servants together to see how they’ve done since he was
away. First guy reports he double the money. Again, same goes for the second
guy. The Master’s response to them was: “well done, good and faithful servant;
thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many
things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (KJV). The third guy tells his Master: “Look,
sir. I know that you are a hard man to please and you’re a shrewd and ruthless
businessman who grows rich on the backs of others. I was afraid of you, so
I went and hid your money and buried it in the ground. But here it is—take it,
it’s yours” (TPT). Now, here is where it
gets hardcore…
Matthew
25: 26-30 “Angered by what he heard, the master said to him, ‘You’re an
untrustworthy and lazy servant! If you knew I was a shrewd and ruthless
business man who always makes a profit, why didn’t you deposit my money in the
bank? Then I would have received it all back with interest when I
returned. But because you were unfaithful, I will take the one thousand
gold coins and give them to the one who has ten thousand. For the one who
has will be given more, until he overflows with abundance. And the one with
hardly anything, even what little he has will be taken from him. Then the
master said to his other servants, Now, throw that good-for-nothing servant far
away from me into the outer darkness, where there will be great misery and
anguish!’” (TPT).
He isn’t calling us to take a chance. God ALWAYS has a plan. His plans DO NOT FAIL. He is calling us to
take a calculated risk…to trust Him. I don’t know about you, but I do not want
to be removed from God into outer darkness in misery and anguish. 2 Timothy 1:7 (The
Passion Translation) reminds us: For God will never give you the spirit
of fear, but the Holy Spirit who gives you mighty power, love, and self-control. In John 14:27 Jesus himself tells us, “I
leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given
by the world, but my perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your
hearts—instead, be courageous! Romans 8:28 tells us: we are convinced that
every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s
perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have
been called to fulfill his designed purpose. These words confirm to us that we
do not need to fear taking any risk He calls us to because He gave us His peace
via the Holy Spirit in us and He is always weaving together His perfect plan
for our lives.
I wish had some pretty way to wrap this all up in a bow with a
cherry and a smile but instead I am going to be real here for one moment…it doesn’t
have to be a giant thing you do but do something. Don’t squander the talents He
has given you. He has been very clear that burying them leads to anguish and misery.
Something as small as a compliment, holding a hand or hugging a neck can be a
powerful tool in hands moved by God. Just love somebody. That’s really all He
is asking.
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